Last week the bar judge asked the parties to submit briefing on the question of whether A.R.S. § 12-751 was constitutional: Order.
The judge gave us until May 21, 2026 to respond. As usual, I moved a bit quicker: Gingras Response to MTD Question.
I know this stuff is probably a bit dry. My eyes feel dry after looking at this for hours.
The basic idea is that as a general rule, the Arizona Supreme Court is responsible for making procedural rules that control how cases are resolved. Font colors, page limits, those sorts of things.
And most of the time, the AZ Supreme Court creates those procedurals rules without much fanfare. Most of the time, only the Supreme Court handles rule changes.
But not always. The Arizona Legislature (the AZ Senate and the House of Representatives) is the primary body responsible for writing laws in this state. And boy, do we have a lot of laws. The speed limit on Arizona’s roads is a law written by our Legislature. The law against digging up cacti (A.R.S. § 3-906). I could go on forever. We have lots of laws. Not as many as California, but still a lot.
But here’s the thing — although the Arizona Supreme Court is the primary body responsible for making procedural rules, it is not the exclusive source of all rules, and it is basically never allowed to create new substantive laws. The Legislature can (and frequently does) adopt laws which affect procedural matters in court, and the Legislature is the exclusive authority for creating new substantive laws.
So what happens if the Legislature creates a new law that impacts how a case proceeds in court. Is that illegal? Absolutely not. If you care to understand why, read my pleading. I think we explained this fairly well. It’s dry, but understandable.
Does this mean the PDJ will agree? Honestly, I would be surprised if she doesn’t agree with me. The issue is THAT simple and the law is THAT clear.
The Arizona Legislature passed a law that gives me the right to have groundless bar charges dismissed promptly. In fact, even if the charges aren’t groundless, I can still have them dismissed if the Bar isn’t applying the rules evenly to everyone.
I understand the bar may not like that law, but so what? The law is the law, and we are all required to follow the law.
Even the Presiding Disciplinary Judge.
Gingras Response to MTD Question - PDJ2026-9010 conformed
Will we ever get an answer to the “PP being closed on Sunday” thing?
I want to know where she got that info from
Enjoy your day 🙂
Yikes! I’ve tried leaving a comment so many times but the comments are always close before I get a chance! Now I finally have an opportunity and can’t think of what I want to say 🙃
I guess I would have 2 questions. I saw someone screenshot a comment you made regarding Omar lying because he said the bankruptcy case was dismissed but that technically hasn’t been signed off yet (I don’t follow everything, so I don’t know where that actually came from)…. My question is, would this really be considered lying or could it just have been an error? Would Laura really be able to sue someone if it was just an error? I guess I’m seeing it as kind of similar as whatever that whole deal with the money in the bank about statement was you made by mistake? Or maybe that’s different…. I guess I tend to always assume the best in people and that he was not intentionally trying to lie. And to be fair, I give you the same benefit of the doubt when others are pretty accusatory of things 🙂
My second comment/question is regarding you working pro bono for Laura….(Or any lawyer who works pro bono). In order to provide pro bono service, do you have to give the same opportunity to anyone who needs it? Or are you allowed to just be pro bono for a friend because you want to? I’m asking because I work in healthcare, and we have strict rules about providing pro bono care. We have to provide everyone with the same access and equal opportunities (ie, a sliding scale). So anyone with a certain level of financial hardship would also have to be offered this. Are lawyers not obligated to this? I don’t hate Laura the way some others do, but I do kind of get annoyed that she gets all these free services when I do know a lot of people who I just kind of feel are a little bit more deserving (knowing their circumstances). I do feel bad for her but kinda feel like it’s time she give up on this